WAT's
Sustainable,
Waterloo?
Welcome
to
the
official
Sustainability's
Office's
podcast: WAT's
Sustainable?
Every
day,
800
million
women,
girls,
nonbinary
people,
and
trans
men
around
the
world
menstruate.
Yet,
stigmas
persist
around
having
conversations
about
menstruation,
and
the
topic
is
viewed
as
embarrassing.
Conventional
menstrual
products
like
Tampons
and
Menstrual
products
are
incredibly
unsustainable
in
terms
of
manufacturing
and
disposal
since
they
are
often
made
with
single-use
plastics
and
conventional
cotton
which
are
both
immensely
taxing.
Over
the
course
of
a
lifetime,
a
person
who
menstruates
is
predicted
to
throw
away
approximately
400
pounds
of
packaging
from
these
products,
which
then
end
up
in
landfills,
sewer
systems
and
waterways.
Not
only
are
these
products
unsustainable
but
are
also
pose
financial
implications,
Canadian
menstruators
are
estimated
to
spend
up
to
$6,000
on
menstrual
hygiene
products
in
their
reproductive
lifetimes.
On
the
other
hand,
products
like
menstrual
cups
are
cost-effective
since
a
single
cup
can
be
used
for
several
years
under
proper
care.
Recently, there has been an increase in the number of people talking about sustainability, living a zero-waste lifestyle, and making environmentally conscious decisions. Because of this, we have seen more people breaking the silence, raising awareness, and challenging the stigmas around mensuration.
With this increased awareness, there has been more pressure on businesses to manufacture sustainable menstruation products like menstrual cups, period panties, and cloth pads, which cater to a wider audience and give sustainable alternatives to those who menstruate.
Access to reusable menstrual products is an equity issue. Managing menstruation should be a basic human right but too few women around the world have the resources to buy feminine hygiene products every month. When a woman must choose between food for her kids and pads for her cycle, when a girl in a developing country misses a quarter of her classes, when a woman loses her job because she cannot afford to buy menstrual products each month, the gender gap widens.
On Episode 13: WAT’s Sustainable Menstruation, we discuss a prime example of innovation and going beyond ideas through the work of UW and WLU student entrepreneurs, Anna Wright, and Abby Loewen, who created SheCycle through the MEDAx pitch competitions. Learn more about SheCycle and their journey to create microbial cloth pads for women in Uganda.
SheCycle is just one of many companies who have opted for a more sustainable outlook towards menstruation. In the market today, there are various products catering to all types of flows, comfort levels and other preferences.
Listen now
Go to our podcast feed to listen to episode 13 now!
Download the Episode 13: Sustainable Menstruation transcription with time stamps and resources. A .txt version of the transcript is also available for accessibility (scroll to bottom of page).
We want to hear from you!
Do you have any ideas or topics you would like us to cover, accessibility concerns or feedback on a particular episode? Email us at sustainability@uwaterloo.ca.
References
- Let's Talk About Periods and Break the Stigma (Forbes)
- Period Poverty in Canada (The Apothecary)